But two weeks before the ceremony, the 18-year-old was taking friends home from a party when he lost control of the pickup he was driving . The Tacoma flipped over the highway guardrail and rolled down an embankment.

The impact ejected two of Peterson's three passengers who were in the truck's bed. They all survived. Though Peterson wore a seat belt, he was partially ejected and the Tacoma landed on top of him. He died instantly.

Traffic accidents remain the leading cause of death of teens. Teens were behind the wheel in 366 fatal collisions in Texas in 2009, and an average of 422 U.S. teens die in traffic accidents each month during the summer, dubbed the "100 deadliest days for drivers" by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The rest of the year, the average falls to 363 deaths a month, according to an AAA analysis of crash data.

It is perhaps the very nature of being a teenager - headstrong rebellion, a need for independence and camaraderie with friends - that puts young drivers in the most danger.

Among the top factors thought to lead to teen driving fatalities are driving at night, distractions in the vehicle such as cell phones and friends, driving at high speeds, not wearing a seat belt and alcohol use.

Peterson and his friends had put themselves in a situation fraught with nearly every one of these risks: four teenagers barreling down a highway in the middle of the night after an evening spent drinking heavily and, Peterson's father believes, smoking pot.

An autopsy report showed his son's blood-alcohol content was 0.165 at the time of his death, more than twice the legal limit.

"It's four immature minds in one missile, rolling at 70 miles per hour at 3 in the morning," his father said.

But while alcohol may have contributed to the crash that killed Peterson, it is a factor in less than 15 percent of the fatal crashes involving drivers age 15 and 16, said Bernie Fette, a senior research specialist for the Texas Transportation Institute.

A 2010 TTI study found that, nationally, the percentage of nighttime fatal crashes between 1999 and 2008 increased at a higher rate for teenagers than any other age group. Other research shows the rates of cell phone ownership and use among teenagers is going up at faster rate than for any other age category, Fette said.

"If you add cell phones to the nighttime risk, it's like a perfect storm," he said.

Tim Peterson still has questions about what happened that night, whether James fell asleep or was using his cell phone. He unsuccessfully tried to obtain the phone records.

All of it matters little to him now. "Jimmy's gone," he said. "And not a damn thing I do is going to bring him back."

A driver's education

In Texas, the training begins with driver's education: anyone under 18 who wants a driver's license must first get a learner's permit for six months and take a state-approved course that includes classroom instruction plus supervised driving time.

Less than two years ago, driver's education in Texas only required teens to clock 14 hours of supervised time in a car, and they only spent half of that time behind the wheel.

The Less Tears More Years Act of 2009 increased the minimum number of driving-instruction hours to 34. Parents or legal guardians must administer the extra 20 hours, and half of that time must include practice at night.

Stephanie Regets took the instruction one step further, and chose to teach her son Zander, 15, the entire course, classroom instruction and all, to give him the one-on-one attention she never received in driving school.

"I got in a car full of teenagers and went out on the highway," Regets said, recalling one of her first driving experiences. "I had never even driven that fast."

Now Regets and Zander drive 30 minutes a day, every day, since he got his learner's permit late last month.

"I may not understand all the AP classes he takes in school," Regets said, "but I understand driving."

Zander will be eligible to get his license after completing his driver's education and holding the learner's permit for six months.

But certain rules will apply to him for the first full year he's on the road, thanks in part to the 2009 bill. The legislation increased the length of time driving restrictions apply to provisional licenses. It used to be six months.

Some restrictions on teenage drivers under the age of 18 took effect in 2002. According to Texas Graduated Driver License Program, drivers under 18 cannot drive with anyone under 21 in the vehicle, unless that person is a relative; they cannot use a wireless communication device except in the case of an emergency; and they can't drive between midnight and 5 a.m. unless they need to use the vehicle for work, school or medical reasons.

Regets has a zero-tolerance rule when it comes to Zander, driving and technology: no cell phones and no radio.

Reducing fatalities

The state's stricter rules are making a difference. The number of fatality crashes among teens has declined by about 40 percent in Texas since 2002, the same year the state's Graduate Driver License Program was put in place.

But research also has found driver's education does not necessarily reduce crashes and can even have an unintentional negative effect, because the course encourages teenagers to drive earlier, said Anne McCartt, vice president of research for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

But research also has found driver's education does not necessarily reduce crashes and can even have an unintentional negative effect, because the course encourages teenagers to drive earlier, said Anne McCartt, vice president of research for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"It's a very well-established association: the younger you license, the higher the crash rate will be," McCartt said.

"It's maturity," she said. "A difference in maturity. A tendency to take risks."